Data storage and access systems enable downloading and paying for data such as audio and video data, text, software, games and other types of data. A portable data carrier has an interface for sending and receiving data, data memory for storing received content data, and payment validation memory for providing payment validation data to an external device. The carrier may also store a record of access made to the stored content, and content use rules for controlling access to the stored content. Embodiments store further access control data and supplementary data such as hot links to web sites and/or advertising data. A complementary data access terminal, data supply computer system, and data access device are also described. The combination of payment data and stored content data and use rule data helps reduce the risk of unauthorized access to data such as compressed music and video data, especially over the Internet.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A handheld multimedia terminal, comprising: a wireless interface configured to interface with a wireless network for accessing a remote computer system; non-volatile memory configured to store multimedia content, wherein said multimedia content comprises one or more of music data, video data and computer game data; a program store storing processor control code; a processor coupled to said non-volatile memory, said program store, said wireless interface and a user interface to allow a user to select and play said multimedia content; a display for displaying one or both of said played multimedia content and data relating to said played multimedia content; wherein the processor control code comprises: code to request identifier data identifying one or more items of multimedia content stored in the non-volatile memory; code to receive said identifier data; code to present to a user on said display said identified one or more items of multimedia content available from the non-volatile memory; code to receive a user selection to select at least one of said one or more of said stored items of multimedia content; code responsive to said user selection of said at least one selected item of multimedia content to transmit payment data relating to payment for said at least one selected item of multimedia content via said wireless interface for validation by a payment validation system, wherein said payment data comprises user identification data identifying said user to said payment validation system; code to receive payment validation data via said wireless interface defining if said payment validation system has validated payment for said at least one selected item of multimedia content; and code to control access to said at least one selected item of multimedia content on said terminal responsive to said payment validation data, wherein said user interface is operable to enable a user to select said at least one item of multimedia content available from said non-volatile memory; and wherein said user interface is operable to enable a user to access said at least one selected item of multimedia content responsive to said code to control access permitting access to said at least one selected item of multimedia content.
2. A handheld multimedia terminal as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising code to retrieve supplementary data via said wireless interface and output said supplementary data to said user using said display.
3. A handheld multimedia terminal as claimed in claim 2 , wherein said supplementary data comprises advertising data.
4. A handheld multimedia terminal as claimed in claim 3 , wherein said processor further comprises code to display said advertising data when presenting said identified one or more items of multimedia content available from the non-volatile memory and/or accessing said at least one selected item of multimedia content.
5. A content data supply server for providing an item of multimedia content to a handheld multimedia terminal, the content data supply server comprising: a communications interface for communicating with the handheld multimedia terminal; a program store storing code implementable by a processor; a data store for storing identifier data identifying one or more items of multimedia content available to the handheld multimedia terminal; and a processor coupled to the communications interface, to the program store and the data store, the code comprising: code to receive a request from the handheld multimedia terminal for the identifier data identifying the one or more items multimedia content available to the handheld multimedia terminal; code to retrieve the identifier data from the data store; code to transmit the identifier data via the communications interface to the handheld multimedia terminal; code to receive payment validation data validating a user purchase of an item of the multimedia content; and code responsive to the payment validation data validating the user purchase to retrieve the purchased item of multimedia content data from a multimedia content store and transmit the purchased item of multimedia content via the communications interface to the handheld multimedia terminal.
6. A content data supply server as claimed in claim 5 , further comprising code to receive payment record data indicating a payment made by a user for the item of multimedia content.
7. A content data supply server as claimed in claim 6 , further comprising code responsive to receiving the payment record data to request the payment validation data.
8. A content data supply server as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the code to request the payment validation data comprises code to transmit at least a portion of the payment record data.
9. A content data supply server as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the data supply server comprises the multimedia content store.
10. A content data supply server as claimed in claim 5 , further comprising: code to receive a request from the handheld multimedia terminal for content information pertaining to at least one of the items of multimedia content identified by the identifier data, wherein the content information comprises one or more of description data and cost data; code to retrieve the content information from the data store; and code to transmit the content information to the handheld multimedia terminal.
11. A content data supply server as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the item of multimedia content comprises one or more of music, films, TV programs, text, software, or games software.
12. A content data supply server as claimed in claim 5 , further comprising: code responsive to the payment validation data validating the user purchase to transmit at least one access rule to the handheld multimedia terminal, wherein the at least one access rule specifies at least one condition for accessing the retrieved and purchased item of multimedia content data.
13. A content data supply server as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the data store or multimedia content store further stores the at least one access rule, and further comprising code to read the at least one access rule from the data store or multimedia content store.
14. A method of providing an item of multimedia content to a handheld multimedia terminal, the method comprising: receiving a request from the handheld multimedia terminal for identifier data identifying one or more items of multimedia content data available to the handheld multimedia terminal; retrieving the identifier data from a data store; transmitting the identifier data to the handheld multimedia terminal; receiving payment validation data validating a user purchase of an item of multimedia content; and responsive to the payment validation data validating the user purchase, retrieving the purchased item of multimedia content data from a multimedia content store and transmitting the purchased item of multimedia content to the handheld multimedia terminal.
15. A method as claimed in claim 14 , further comprising receiving payment record data indicating a payment made by a user for the item of multimedia content.
16. A method as claimed in claim 15 , further comprising requesting the payment validation data responsive to receiving the payment record data.
17. A method as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the requesting the payment validation data comprises transmitting at least a portion of the payment record data.
18. A method as claimed in claim 14 , further comprising: receiving a request from the handheld multimedia terminal for content information pertaining to at least one of the items of multimedia content identified by the identifier data, wherein the content information comprises one or more of description data and cost data; retrieving the content information from the data store; and transmitting the content information to the handheld multimedia terminal.
19. A method as claimed in claim 14 , further comprising: responsive to the payment validation data validating the user purchase, transmitting at least one access rule to the handheld multimedia terminal, wherein the at least one access rule specifies at least one condition for accessing the retrieved and purchased item of multimedia content data.
20. A method as claimed in claim 19 , further comprising reading the at least one access rule from the data store or multimedia content store.
21. A computer system for providing multimedia data items to a handheld multimedia terminal, the system comprising: a communications interface; a data store for storing records of multimedia data items available from the system, each record comprising a data item description and a pointer to a data provider for the data item; a program store storing code implementable by a processor; a processor coupled to the communications interface, to the data store, and to the program store for implementing the stored code, the code comprising: code to receive a request for a multimedia data item from the handheld multimedia terminal; code to receive from the communications interface payment validation data comprising data confirming payment for the requested multimedia data item; code responsive to the request and to the received payment validation data, to read the requested multimedia data item from a content provider; and code to transmit the read multimedia data item to the handheld multimedia terminal over the communications interface.
22. A computer system as claimed in claim 21 , further comprising code to receive payment record data indicating a payment made by a user for the item of multimedia content.
23. A computer system in claim 22 , further comprising code responsive to the receiving the payment record data to request the payment validation data.
24. A computer system as claimed in claim 21 , further comprising: code responsive to the request and to the received payment validation data, to transmit at least one access rule to the handheld multimedia terminal, wherein the at least one access rule specifies at least one condition for accessing the retrieved and purchased item of multimedia content data.
25. A method of downloading multimedia content from a content data supply server to a handheld multimedia terminal, the method comprising: requesting, via a wireless interface on the handheld multimedia terminal, identifier data identifying one or more items of multimedia content available for retrieving, receiving the identifier data via the wireless interface, requesting content information via the wireless interface, wherein the content information comprises one or more of description data and cost data pertaining to at least one of the one or more items of multimedia content identified by the identifier data; receiving the content information via said wireless interface; presenting the content information pertaining to the identified one or more items of multimedia content available for retrieving to a user on a display of the handheld multimedia terminal; receiving a user selection selecting at least one of the one or more items of multimedia content available for retrieving; responsive to the user selection of the at least one item of multimedia content transmitting payment data relating to payment for the selected at least one item of multimedia content via the wireless interface for validation by a payment validation system; receiving payment validation data via the wireless interface defining if the payment validation system has validated payment for the selected at least one item of multimedia content; and responsive to the payment validation data retrieving the selected at least one item of multimedia content via the wireless interface from a content data supply server, writing the retrieved at least one item of multimedia content into non-volatile memory on the handheld multimedia terminal.
26. A method as claimed in claim 25 , further comprising: retrieving at least one access rule from the content data supply server, wherein the at least one access rule specifies at least one condition for accessing the retrieved and purchased item of multimedia content data.
27. A method as claimed in claim 25 , wherein the non-volatile memory comprises flash memory.
28. A method as claimed in claim 25 , wherein the multimedia content comprises one or more of music, films, TV programs, text, software, or games software.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
April 3, 2012
August 5, 2014
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